Mike Beamish reports:
The Lions’ 48-10 loss to the Calgary Stampeders Friday was more about injured pride than injured bodies. But the team didn’t escape its worst defeat under head coach Wally Buono completely unscathed.
Defensive end Nautyn McKay-Loescher suffered a hamstring injury that likely will keep him out of Friday’s game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Buono said.
At this point, the Lions coach doesn’t have many options available to replace McKay-Loescher, a non-import who ... Read More …

Mike Beamish reports after July 16 Edmonton game:
Commonwealth Stadium has proven to be a mine field for Lions quarterback Buck Pierce, who was knocked out of last Thursday’s 40-22 win with a suspected concussion in the first quarter against the Eskimos.
Two days after the inicdent, in the July 18 edition of the Vancouver Sun, sports columnist Iain MacIntyre remarked on the lack of outrage against Eskimo rookie Elliott Richardson, who appeared to take ... Read More …

Mike Beamish reports from Edmonton:
One of the most amazing revelations to come out of Wally Buono’s pre-game press conference was the declaration that Walter Stith “is just a bad football player.”
Stith, the Lions’ starting left tackle for two games, was released earlier this week and will be replaced by Daren Heerspink, who has been with the team less than two weeks.
Granted, Stith punctured the great bubble of expectations when he was schooled ... Read More …

Mike Beamish reports from Edmonton:
The coaches wanted to talk football. The media wanted to discuss espionage. In the end, Wally Buono and Richie Hall lectured on morality.
With the Eskimos coming off a 50-16 pasting by the Montreal Alouettes and the Lions uncharacteristically 0-2 to start the season, the head coaches for tonight’s game at Commonwealth Stadium thought they knew what the first line of questioning would be at their pre-game press conferences.
They ... Read More …

Mike Beamish reports from Edmonton:
On the eve of his first CFL game, Sean Whyte was asked about adversity, something he has never experienced in his brief pro career.
Whyte, 23, will handle all of the Lions’ kicking duties tonight against the Edmonton Eskimos following the knee injury to veteran Paul McCallum last game against Hamilton. McCallum has 17 years’ worth of ups and downs as a kicker in the CFL. Whyte has never enjoyed ... Read More …

After announcing the release of wide receiver Cory Rodgers earlier this week, Lions head coach Wally Buono remains uninterested in pursuing unemployed Winnipeg wideout Derick Armstrong who met the same fate as Rodgers.
“At this point, no,” Buono said. “I’m happy with the guys that we have. They fit what we do. At the end of the day, they’ve got to go out and win for us.”
Armstrong, 30, a three-time 1,000-yard receiver, was released ... Read More …

On Tuesday, the B.C. Lions told Cory Rodgers to stay home. Wednesday, it was Paris Jackson’s turn.
The latter, however, is still in the Lions’ plans; the former isn’t.
Jackson didn’t practise Wednesday after he came down with flu-like symptoms and coach Wally Buono worried he might infect some of his teammates.
“We sent him home to get some rest and get him hydrated,” Buono explained. “If he’s here, all he’s doing is sending it ... Read More …

Mike Beamish reports:
1. Is there a need for more preseason games? After watching Friday’s bungle-fest at Mosaic Stadium, I’d say there is. Two dress rehearsals is not enough, judging by the plethora of mistakes in the ‘Riders’ 28-24 win over the Lions. The teams combined for 15 turnovers altogether. Precision took a holiday.That’s to be expected, however, given the fact that, for most Lions veterans, it was only their second game of real contact. ... Read More …

The Sun’s Mike Beamish reports from Regina:
Eric Tillman, general manager of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, won’t go to trial until January after pleading not guilty to a summary charge of sexual assault. But the lifelong football man has been sentenced to house arrest for the rest of the 2009 CFL season.Tillman lives mere blocks from Mosaic Stadium. He’ll hear the roar of 30,000 fans from the Riders-Lions game tonight if he steps into his ... Read More …

The Sun’s Mike Beamish reports from Regina:Before training camp started, B.C. Lions head coach Wally Buono looked and sounded as if he could hardly wait for the CFL regular season to begin. He really believed the 2009 Canadian college draft and the eight free-agent camps the Lions held across the U.S. would bear fruit. He could barely contain his excitement.After two pre-season losses, however, you got the sense that doubts were beginning to ... Read More …

REGINA — Before training camp started, Lions coach Wally Buono looked and sounded as if he could hardly wait for the CFL regular season to begin. He really believed the 2009 Canadian college draft and the eight free-agent camps the Lions held across the U.S. would bear fruit. He could barely contain his excitement.
After two preseason losses, however, you got the sense that doubts were beginning to creep into his thinking. Yet that wasn’t evident ... Read More …

An opening day doubleheader on Canada Day — what a patriotic way to kick off the 2009 CFL season!
As the Vancouver Sun is not publishing its print edition on Canada’s 142nd birthday, July 1, welcome to the first installment of This Week In The CFL, a weekly schedule and progostications package which will appear on the Sun’s CFL Page every Thursday throughout the season.
Let’s get going (all times are PDT):
Wednesday, July 1
Toronto ... Read More …

Reggie Hunt, the veteran defender released by the Montreal Alouettes Thursday, is yet another linebacker on Wally Buono’s gathering wish list, which includes two former Lions, Jamall Johnson and JoJuan Armour.
Hunt, a seven-year CFL veteran who was a four-time West Division all-star in Saskatchewan, said he would phone the Lions head coach and GM soon after his release. That hasn’t happened at this point, according to Buono. Hunt, however, would be a natural fit ... Read More …

You can turn back the clock, as Bobby Singh found out Thursday, when he drove to Surrey from his Richmond home and went back in time.
It was like 2006 again for Singh, who was embraced by former teammate Paris Jackson in the parking lot of the Lions’ training facility, then reintroduced to his familiar surroundings in the B.C. locker room.
Singh played for Wally Buono from 2004-2006. But in a cost-cutting measure, the veteran ... Read More …

Lions head coach Waly Buono has postponed his traditional post-game assessment until 1:30 this afternoon (Wednesday, July 24) to review video of Tuesday’s 31-19 pre-season loss to the Eskimos and mull over his roster reduction decisions.
Buono’s need to pare bodies and get closer to the roster limit of 53 (46 on the active roster, seven on the development squad) was made a little easier Tuesday by the strong showing of rookie running back Martell ... Read More …

When he was president of Lions, the late Bob Ackles used to dismiss those who longingly wished for a return to the glory days of Empire Stadium as being a little out of touch with reality.
Ackles would point out that dive-bombing pigeons, hard wooden seats with no backs and late autumn monsoons were conveniently forgotten in the nostalgic yearning for an uncovered football stadium.
He was a defender of BC Place, the bored concrete ... Read More …

ABBOTSFORD — Sean Whyte’s three field goals on three attempts Wednesday against the Stampeders maintained his perfect record in the only two CFL games in which he has played, both in the preseason. Whyte went two-for-two last season in an exhibition against the Roughriders. He also punted eight times and averaged 64.4 yards on seven kickoffs, bettering Stampeder veteran Sandro DeAngelis in the latter stat. “We’re looking at two options for Sean,” Lions head coach ... Read More …

The Lions are back in Abbotsford — and so are we following Wednesday’s 37-30 preseason defeat to the Stampeders at McMahon Stadium.
A few post-game observations:
1. It’s going to be extremely difficult to choose between Zac Champion and Travis Lulay as the Lions third-string quarterback. Both engineered impressive touchdown drives in the second half — Champion’s went 85 yards, the longest of the game for the Lions — and both quarterbacks showed great scrambling ... Read More …